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Jacquelin

Hi! Welcome to my blog! My name is Jacquelin and I am from Victoria, BC on sunny Vancouver Island. I am a mom, wife, doula and love all things crafty. I started this journey in 2012 - my year of transformation (the start of it, anyway!!)- getting healthy and fit and finding a balanced life. I hope you find inspiration and a few laughs here and that you come back and visit my blog again soon!

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

So I have been feeling pretty unsuccessful lately - too much work, too much stress - too many not so fantastic choices. I have been trying to get back on track, but basically spiraling into a grumpy "I suck" kinda space. Not good.

Today I felt the beginning of a real turnaround - a "maybe I can actually sustain this for longer than I think moment" - all because of what I have privately ( ok, publicly!) referred to for the last 9 months as "Hell's Bell's" - aka kettlebells.

Don't know what I am talking about? Let me enlighten you. Kettlebells are a special kind of torture used by BDHQ ( and other) trainers to work your abs until they scream and your arms and shoulders til you can't lift them anymore. (For more history than you probably want or need - check out http://www.kettlebellscience.com/kettlebell-history.html.) They look like something the circus strongman would use - oh wait - they used to -I know I have seen that on Bugs Bunny cartoons!

I started the year with the pink kettlebell - it weighs 8kg/18 pounds. I found it really challenging - who knew swinging and clean pressing ( I know, it even SOUNDS hardcore) only 18 pounds would be so hard. My arms hurt, I tired easily, and it was work. But I really hated using the pink. It just seemed so, well, girly, which is dumb and also sexist, but hey, just keepin it real! I wanted to use the blue (12kg/26lbs) kettlebell, like some of the other women I had seen at the gym, ones who looked a hell of lot more fit than me. Surely I could swing 26 pounds - it couldn't be that hard, right?

Wrong. It took me about 6 months to even summon up the courage to TRY the blue bell. It really was a LOT more work. And I couldn't do it consistently - the last set of reps always ended up with me picking up those damn pink bells. I was disappointed in myself, but I couldn't seem to get past that milestone. I made it my goal to use the blue bell consistently, all the time, for all sets, by the end of the year. I figured I had a slight chance of doing that, and at least it wouldn't too disappointing if I didn't succeed.

Today I hit the gym, still feeling discouraged with my progress, with my commitment ( and how it has been faltering), and saw that kettlebells were a big part of the circuit. James ( of West Coast Kettlebell Club fame!) my amazing trainer had pink and blue and yellow bells out to use.

In a moment of "screw this, I am going to prove myself today" also known as insanity, i picked up not the pink, and not the blue, but the yellow kettlebell. After all, I could always drop down to the lighter weight if necessary.

But I surprised myself. And probably James. And I know Lovisa will fall over when she reads this. I used the yellow kettlebell for the entire circuit - every swing, every lift, every row. 3 sets of 20 and 30 and 20. Me! 16kg! 35lbs! The yellow bell! Success! Unbelievable.

It is amazing how good success feels. And an important reminder to me about why I started this journey in the beginning. It was never about a certain weight, although seeing the numbers go down is great. One of my big goals was to build strength and feel strong. Today I do - actually today I feel like this guy:

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Not quite as buff, but a better fashion sense and a much happier face! Thanks to James for encouraging me to feel and be strong, and for cheering me on and taking a pic of the event!